Emil g



(No Model.)

E. IG. HAMMER.,- FLEGTITRIG BATTERY.

' Puente@ Sept. 8,1385. f

UNITED STATEJS PATENT @einen EMIL G. HAMMER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. l

ELECTRIC BATTERY'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 326,033, datedSeptember 8, 1835.

Application filed September 8, 1884.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.:r

Be it known that I, EMIL G. HAMMER, of Brooklyn, Kings county, New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Batteries,of which the following is a specification.

My invention applies to porous-cell batteries and relates moreparticularly to the Leclanch type of battery, and it aims tosimplify'and cheapen the construction thereof, and particularly torender the battery portable and tight and yet maintain the knownexcellences of this forni of battery. To these ends I construct myimproved battery of an external cup or cylinder of zinc, in which isplaced the carbon electrode inclosed in a porous sack or bag,preferablymade of a woven or fibrous fabric and packed with thegranulated carbon, the peroxide of manganese, and with the sal-ammoniaccrystals. Water is placed in the annular space between the sack and thezinc cylinder. A non-conducting collar at the bottom of the porous sackseparates it from the zinc cylinder, and a rubber ring surrounding theneck of the sack closes the mouth of the zine cylinder liquidtight andprevents electric contact between the two elements. The top ofthe sackabove the liquid-line is made impervious by asphaltum or its equivalent.Y

My invention, therefore, consists in the novel features here outlined,particularly in the porous sack inclosing one element of the battery andpacked with the exciting material, in the stoppering rubber ringsurrounding thesack, in thespecial preparation of the sack, and in otherspecial details above indicated and hereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawings annexed, Figure l gives a vertical section of myimproved battery; Fig. 2, a plan view thereof, and Fig. 3 across-section on line .e x.

In the drawings, a indicates a cup or cylinder of zinc cast or otherwiseformed, and constituting the soluble element or positive electrode ofthe battery, as well as the containing and sustaining jar or vesselthereof.

b indicates the carbon or conducting ele- .nient of the battery, whichis inclosed in a sack or tube-like bag, d, of linen, muslim, or itsequivalent.

The bag d when fully distended is prefer- (No model.)

ably circular and of less size than the interior of the zinc cylindera., so that when placed therein, as shown,an annular space, c, 1s leftbetween the two for the exciting-liquid. The top or neck of the vsack isclosed around the top of the carbon b, which prot-rudes therefrom, asshown in Figs. l and 2, the bag being Securely wrapped around the carbonby a b1nd ing of cord, wire, or by any other suitable fastening, andalso sealed with wax or its equivalent at the wrapping, as will beunderstood. The bottoni of the bag is wrapped around a Wooden or otherplug, c, which closes that end of the bag, and is also formed with arim, c', which fits the interior of the zinc cylinder, and, resting onthe bottom thereof, thus supports the bag centrally thereon, keeping thebag isolated from the sides of the cylinder, and, being a non-conductor,insulates the bottorn of the bag and its contents from the zinc, as willbe readily appreciated.

The bag d is packed with crystals of the exciting salt or substance,preferably sal-:tur

lnoniac, around the carbon b, and with this is preferably mixedgranulated carbon and the peroxide of manganese, as used in theLeclanehe battery, the whole forming a compact mass around the carbonelectrode, filling the. bag d, as fully shown in Fig. I.

A rubber ring, f, is slipped over the neck of the bag and fits theinterior of the zinc cylinder a, and thuscloses the annular space at themouth of the cylinder and Stoppers the battery-jar tightly, at the sainetime keeping the bag centrally in the jar and preventing electriccontact between the elements. One or two tubes, h h, pass through therubber ring f, and are provided with Stoppers it, through which tubesthe interior space may be vented or through which water or other liquidmay be introduced to render the batf tery active.

A bindingpost, k, is clamped to the carbon b, and a second bindingpost,Z, is soldered to the zinc cylinder a, from which posts thecircuit-wires are led, as usual.

It will now be seen that the battery, as described, is quite compact andentirely portable, and, as the exciting substance is packed which,immediately soaking through the bag, dissolves the sal-ammoniac withinit, and thus produces the exeiting-liquid,which, acting on the elementsas soon as the circuit is closed, will produce the electric current insubstantially the same way as in the Leclanch battery, and with all thewell known advantages of this type of battery. It will be further seenthat the stopper-ring f prevents all leakage in case the battery istipped or upset, and also stops all evaporation, which are mostimportant advantages. In order to stop evapora tion or leakage from thebag d, the upper portion,down to a slight distance below the waterlevel,is thoroughly impregnated with asphaltum, varnish, piraillne,wax, orother suitable impervious substance, as indicated at m in Fig. l., whichrenders the fabric impenetrable to the exciting-fluid above theliquidlevel, while the lower portion is left freely penetrable, as willbe readily comprehended from Fig. l.

rlhc advantages of this battery are therefore Seen to be many andimportant, for, While all the well-known electrical advantages of theLeclanche type of battery are preserved, the following advantages aregained first, the construct-ion is very simple and inexpensive; second,the batteryis very compact; third, as the walls of the bag d are verythin and penetrable, action commences almost as soon as the cell ischarged with the liquid; fourth, as the zincor soluble element surroundsthe conducting element on all sides and close to the porous cell, theresistance of the battery is greatly reduced; iifth, as the excitingmaterial in a dry state is packed within the bag inelosing the carbon,and so furnished when the battery is sold, it is rendered perfectlyportable or transportable, and needs only the addition of water in theouter cell when the battery is to be set in action; sixth, spilling andevaporating are prevented by the simple-stopper at the top.

It will be obvious that while I have described my improvement as appliedto the Leclanche style of battery, in which zinc and carbon are theelements, with ground carbon and peroxide ol' manganese as theconducting and depolarizing agents, and. sal-ammoniac as the excitingsubstance, yet my invention is not necessarily confined to any of theseparticular materials, but may be applied to batteries employingdifferent materials, as will be readily eomprehended.

It is not absolutely essential that the permeable sack d actuallyinclose or surround the battery-element b, as it will suiiice if thesack with its contents is secured to the element on one or both sides;but it is of course preferable to have the sack surround and inclose theelement, as illustrated.

I prefer to construct the sack of common muslin or linen; but any otherWoven or felted fabric will answer.

I prefer to coat the interior of the zinc cup a for about two-thirds ofthe distance from the mouth with a coating of some insoluble varnish orimpervious substance-such as asphaltum, dammar, parafne, Sta-asindicated at t in Fig. 1 so :L te leave only the lower part of the zincexposed to the action of the exciting liquid, thereby reducing the wasteof the zinc and enabling thebattery to endure longer usage withoutreducing the electro motive force of the current. This coating at thetop ofthe jar will also prevent the creeping of the salts up the side ofthe jar, and forms an advantageous feature of my invention.

What I claim is- 1. The combination,with a battery element, of apermeable sack secured to the same and Charged with the attacking-salt.

2. The combination ,with a battery element, of a permeable sacksurrounding and inelosing the same and secured thereto, and charged withthe attacking-salt.

3. The combination,with a battery element, of a permeable sack orbaginclosing the element and charged with the chemicals of the battery,the upper portion of said sack above the liquid-level ofthe batterybeing rendered impervious by varnish or its equivalent.

4. An imprfved battery, consisting of an external containing-cup, a,formed of a corrodible metal constituting the soluble element of thebattery, with a conducting element, b, and a permeable sack, d,inelosing and secured to the element d, and a charge of theactivebattery-ehemical in a dry state within said sack, whereby thebattery is rendered portable and is ready for action when adissolvingliquid is poured into the space between the sack and cup,substantially as herein set forth.

EMIL G. HAMMER.

Witnesses:

ROBERT OBYRNE, JN0. E. GAvIN.

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